Glitches may boost Blue Cross website, Care Fair attendance

Glitches and delays with the federally run health insurance website may draw more North Texans to a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas site and to a health fair the insurer is sponsoring, the company's chief medical officer told me this morning.

Dr. Dan McCoy, vice president and chief medical officer at Richardson-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, invited insurance shoppers who are having difficulty with healthcare.gov to check out the offerings on Blue Cross' own website, bcbstx.com.

"With anything of this magnitude, there's going to be some hiccups," McCoy said of the rollout of the federal exchange. "For people who have been accessing the Blue Cross Blue Shield website, it's been a rather smooth process."

McCoy said he doesn't know how many health plans Blue Cross has sold through the federal exchanges or through its own website since the exchanges opened Oct. 1. However, he said traffic to the Blue Cross site has been brisk.

The number of health plans available n the government site varies depending on coverage type, location and other factors. I test-drove healthcare.gov this morning and found 38 health plans available to an individual in Dallas County. The offerings were from Blue Cross, Aetna, Cigna Health and Molina Healthcare of Texas.

Blue Cross offers 18 plans on the exchange, McCoy said.

He said he hopes people who want information about health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act will go to a Care Fair that Blue Cross is sponsoring through Be Covered Texas, a statewide outreach campaign.

The event will take place Saturday Oct. 26 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Dallas Convention Center Arena.

It will provide an array of educational information and health-related screenings and activities including flu shots, blood pressure and cholesterol checks, dental screenings and healthy food giveaways to the first 1,000 families in addition to information about the health reform law.

"If people are having difficulty accessing the (government) website, this is a great opportunity to come out. and find out about their health care options," McCoy said. "This is obviously a new experience for consumers. People are going to have access to health care for the first time in their lives."

McCoy said a similar event in Houston drew more than 4,500 attendees, and he expects the Dallas fair to be one of the largest Affordable Care Act informational events in the country.

The Affordable Care Act — Obamacare — passed in 2010 and expands health insurance in an effort to make coverage more affordable through subsidies and tax credits. The law also imposes escalating penalties for people who don't purchase health insurance. The subsidies and penalties vary based on income range.

Enrollment in health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act began Oct. 1 and runs through March 31. Under the new law, individuals and their dependents must have health insurance coverage by Jan. 1 or pay a penalty to the federal government.

Some of the more than 30 participating organizations in the Care Fair include: American Diabetes Association; American Heart Association; Catholic Charities; Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Dallas; Community Council of Greater Dallas; North Texas Chapter; Dallas Area Agency on Aging; Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services; North Texas Food Bank; North Texas Housing Coalition; University of North Texas System College of Pharmacy; Urban League of Greater Dallas & North Central Texas, Inc.; Vecinos Unidos, Inc.; and West Dallas Multipurpose Center.